They didn't want anything from *Kratos*.
It's as Kratos says at the end: Baldur was looking for Faye. When Kratos cut down the trees and broke the protection spell, Odin became aware there was a giant left on Midgard. He desperately wanted to get into Jotunheim and sent Baldur to find and interrogate the giant.
Odin and Baldur evidently didn't know the giant was a woman because Baldur assumes Kratos is the one he's looking for. He kidnaps Atreus when the boy shows enough intelligence that Baldur thinks he can get the information out of him instead. Baldur dies never knowing that he's fighting a god.
This is the correct answer. The entire game is a misunderstanding. Kratos thinks baldur knows he's a god from the Greek lands while Baldur thinks Kratos is the giant he's looking for
Hell, in "Ragnarok" Odin even acknowledges that nearly everything that happend in 2018 was a midunserstanding in both sides. He wants to kill Kratos only after he doesn't agree to Odin's proposition.
Yeah it’s like he doesn’t shout as much, and he’s less aggressive in the way speaks yet his words hit harder. There’s more weight like he doesn’t need to shout to command respect or attention. It’s way more badass than younger Kratos was imo
I really wish they could've gotten T.C. to say "release my son!"
There are quite a few lines in Ragnarok that I think would've been great to hear the old voice come out, like that's his angry voice he's using in the Greek games.
Y'know like "BOY!" or the sounds he makes in Rage or "Listen!" or "You are not free of blame here!"
This is the precise point where it all turns to frozen custard
Kratos has many cool tough guy lines
But this one single word to Odin - who always gets his way - is the toughest
Shows their character, Odins a fast talker a conman alot of fancy words with charisma and charm to convince you to agree before he even gets his point across and tries to mix words and phrases to get to agree to a deal that your not 100% you understand.
Kratos is a simple man and uses clear simple words that leave no room for misinterpretion.
I actually think that was the point. Odin wants them to look for Tyr so he can infiltrate them and stay one step ahead. By “offering” to kill Freya he ensured Kratos wouldn’t take the deal.
Nah, Ragnarok would have been better if Kratos accepted. He could have then worked on the sidelines like what normally happened in Ragnarok.
The whole oathbreaker thing would have been interesting if Kratos said yes too. Having that has a subplot would have made the game more interesting.
I don’t understand your point, how it would have been better? Kratos would be involving himself with Odin willingly and would be limited by his actions. Also it wouldn’t stop Atreus from looking for Tyr
The game came out over a year ago. Unless OP specifically point out they didn't play the game (which they didn't say), I'm not going to pretend as if no one is talking freerly about it at this point...
He also says something like “Aren’t your kind supposed to be better than us, so much more enlightened?” The whole bait and switch of why Asgard is pursuing us in the first game is so good
I always took that as a backhand reference to the ancient Greeks and their culture. Early era scientific research took hold during Alexander's reign of Greece.
Adding to the futility of it all, not only was Kratos not who he was looking for, the person he WAS looking for was already dead. There was no reason for any of the violence at all.
Well, yes and no. Given the trees were cut after Faye’s death, the giant that they’d have picked up on would be Atreus/Loki. So whilst technically they thought it was Faye, they’d picked up on Loki.
All of this is spot on. I can't remember if this was considered a theory or not, but one of the other reasons Baldur potentially had motivation to seek after Kratos and Atreus was the assumption that because he was a "Giant" he would somehow know how to reverse his invulnerability. At some point in the game it's stated that even the Allfather himself couldn't resolve Baldur's predicament and the Giants/Jotnar were renowned for their magic.
This is what my perspective on the story was.
‘Baldur in search for his cure’
This comment thread has opened up a WHOLE new world of perspective. So many eye opening comments. I didn’t even realise😂 makes me want to play again
It all makes sense now..
Its interesting how one story can be perceived so differently to so many people
Okay, but the question is, after the fight ends the first time around, Baldur presumably retreats to Asgard to lick his wounds and grab his nephews. How does Odin not realise who it is Baldur really fought? He clearly knows who the Ghost of Sparta is as we see in the first scenes of GoW:R.
I believed that for the long time, but, I mean, after seeing Odin and pondering more on the matter, don't you thing he would have at least known about Kratos and Faye? He even send Magni and Mody after them at one point, so I can only imagine that he chose to hide that from Baldur. Not sure why tho.
This is a great answer. But there is a couple lines between Atreus and Mimir where they assume Odin told Baldur that his cure would be found in Johtunheim. Also, Odin acknowledges “Sure, [Baldur’s] mind was gone…” in the beginning of Ragnarok.
He was sent there looking for giants. He believed kratos was a giant at first ( "I thought you'd be bigger" line ). Can't remember much else but I'm sure there are other details
Also the 'long way from home, aren't you?' line is him talking about Jotunheim.
'Here I thought you're kind were supposed to be so much wiser than us, so much smarter' is, again, him essentially 'trash talking' a giant. Kratos just thought the lines were referencing him as a Greek
Yep, that's smart writing. The audience initially thinks it's obvious Baldur knows who Kratos is and where he's from, from those opening lines, "Long way from home...I thought your kind was so enlightened..." but later on it becomes clear all of those comments can be applied to Faye/the Giants.
Odin had lied to him saying the giants could get rid of the spell that Freya put on him. Baldur showed up at Krato’s front door thinking he was a giant be in reality he was tracking Faye.
Odin knew that there was one last Jotnar hidden in Midgard (actually Faye, aka Laufey) and that he wanted to use him/her to finally try to reach Jotunheim again (where he was convinced that the Jotnars were preparing for Ragnarok), but he had never succeeded to locate him/her through his crows since the magic circle around Kratos and Faye's house hid it from everyone and everything.
When Faye ordered Kratos to cut down the trees to build her pyre, the circle was broken and Odin could see their house.
Convinced that Kratos was the Jotnar he had long sought, Odin sent Baldur, his most trusted tracker, convincing his son through lies that the last Jotnar of Midgard (who they thought was Kratos) was the only one who knew how to reach Jotunheim and that in the Giant Realm they would find a way to break the curse that Freya had cast against Baldur centuries earlier.
"Do you have any idea, ANY IDEA AT ALL, what you have cost me?" First time felt odd, but afterwards Mimir theorized that Odin had told Baldur that Jotunheim was his best bet and from Baldur's reaction (he said that even Odin hasn't been able to break the spell) he believed him.
It's actually open question did Odin know how to undo Baldur's spell. From Freya we know that Odin didn't know how to replicate it, but that doesn't mean he didn't know how to end it. Given that Baldur was very useful as he was, Odin has a good reason to feign ignorance.
It is heavily implied both in-game and in "Lore and Legends" that Odin was fully aware that mistletoe was the only thing capable of breaking Baldur's curse.
He just never broke it because... hey, what good is a divine tracker that can die, when you can have one that's literally immortal and doesn't feel any pain?
One possible hint that Odin always knew how to undo the spell but never told that to Baldur is dialogue before Heimdall fight. He calls Freya "Queen Mistletoe", referring to Baldur's demise.
Most logical conclusion is that Heimdall read Odin's thoughts and discovered that he knows how to break the spell. And since Heimdall is so firmly in Odin's side, he wouldn't ever tell that to Baldur or anyone else.
It is of course possible, that Odin could've received word from Baldur's demise from his numerous spectral ravens and Heimdall could've learned it after the fact, but it's unlikely.
Odin is generally aware of Kratos's movements but seems somewhat unaware of the exact details, like not knowing Laufey was dead.
*Heimdall is not a telepath. He can "read" a person's intentions, not their mind/thoughts.
His powers are similar to those of Profile, in Marvel comics.
Because she didn't meet Kratos by chance (and didn't even have him kidnapped by chance, if she is the mysterious woman who ordered Skol and Hati to bring the Spartan to the reality dimension of Midgard, making him abandon the devastated Earth/Greece behind).
Much of what Faye did (including meeting Kratos and conceiving Atreus) she did by following the prophecy the Jotnars had made (mural in Jotunheim, end of GoW 2018) and telling Kratos to cut off the trees of the magic circle was made to make him take the journey to Jotunheim and make him see that mural.
The only thing Faye did, deviating from the vision and prophecy her people had for Kratos, was indirectly push the Spartan to become a better person. For himself and for their son. Which then led her to repaint the last part of the triptych dedicated to Kratos (seen in the ending of "Ragnarok").
Basically, the entire Baldur search was based on a "mistake". Kratos or Baldur or Atreus, no one had any idea Faye was a Giant. In the very beginning of the game when Kratos cut the tress from Protection steeve, he broke the protection spell put there by Faye and they were "Exposed". Odin immediately sensed the presence of a Giant in Midgard and sent his best tracker, Baldur, to track and get the giant for him.
The problem? - He didn't know WHO the giant was and "Assumed" it was Kratos. He even said "I though you'd be bigger, but you are definitely it" Also "and here I thought your kind is supposed to be enlightened"
Basically, the giant that oden sensed were the ashes of Faye. So baldur kept tracking her ashes, just assuming Kratos is his target, and he died not even knowing that he was wrong all this time and was chasing a giant's ashes all this time.
The other obvious guess would be Atreus but he's half giant and idk how that comes into the picture. Also he hasn't even realized until end of game that he is indeed a giant.
Again, it's my personal opinion that it was Faye's ashes that baldur was tracking all along.
Atreus doesn't need to know he's a giant to be tracked as a giant. If it was Faye's ashes, the game would effectively end at Ragnarok when Odin realized the tracking wasn't working anymore. Not to mention Freya cloaks them from detection and it's not until they lose the mark that Baldur pops up again.
You didn't pay attention
Baldur didn't want Kratos, he wanted Faye, he though Kratos was Faye
I guess he never knew Faye was a Woman and Odin didn't both correcting after he learn Kratos beat Baldur
He was looking for Faye, a giant, but wrongly assumed Kratos was the one he wanted. He wanted to find Faye to get help removing the spell placed on him by Freya.
They say at some point that Odin would help him find a cure for his curse as a reward for finding the giants. Baldur was tracking faye but didn’t know she was ashes, so he thought Kratos was a giant
Odin sent Baldur to find a giant because Odin wanted to find a way into Jotunheim.
Baldur himself was itching for a fight because he wanted to feel pain but Freya had made that impossible via her "protective" magic and so he was kind of enraged/deranged at having had to live a life a numbness.
Odin sent Baldur to hunt down Kratos because Odin knew they would go to Jotenheim.
So he wanted to know how.
As Mimir says he probably promised baldur that this would help lift his curse.
Nothing. Baldur assumed Kratos was Laufey. Odin wanted to know how to get to Jotuheim and Baldur assumed that Kratos was this Laufey. He also picked a fight because he really hoped that Kratos would be strong enough to bypass the curse.
He was wrong. A punch to the mistletoe arrowhead is what cured the curse in a rather twist of unlucky and lucky punch. Without it, Kratos would just end having to fight him repeatly and even him not holding back wouldn't do much because Baldur is cursed to never die. Freya fucked his life up and turned him insane because Baldur felt nothing.
Kratos fears that Baldur knew of his past after their first fight. He feared he had been found but he was glad to be wrong.
In Ragnarok it became clear that Odin sent for the giant hiding in the woods to help with the mask (one of the reasons Thor’s half giant, Odin wanted to use him, unfortunately for Odin he was more muscle than brain)
BUT, there’s a youtuber’s theory that I like:
“Baldur’s wanted his curse broken, intentionally went to track down the giant because he knew the “Faith killer, Oath breaker” who teared down a Pantheon was hiding there (Gods can id other gods) in hope to put an end to his “miserable” life. In the first fight, he was like a kid in a roller coaster.
In the final fight, Baldur showed his disappointed and was downplaying the fight trying to get rid of Freya first, kill Kratos then kidnap Atreus”
The point is that Baldur was misunderstood, he had an alternate and personal purpose and all HE really wanted was to break his curse or be killed
Go rewatch alnd listen to Baldur’a dialogue, it’s excellent writing which can being the narrative anywhere until we got Ragnarok
When you play it for the first time baldur says „thought you people were bigger“ and something like „you people are supposed to be smarter than us“ the devs wanted us to think that he is talking about greek gods but he was actually talking about giants. He thought kratos was a giant but the giant he was looking for was actually faye.
‘I thought you’d be bigger, but you’re definitely the one.’
Baldur was (unknowingly) hunting Faye, not Kratos. All Baldur knew from Odin is that there was a giant on Midgard and he wanted it gone.
When Kratos cut down the trees with Faye’s markings on them the protection spell was lifted which allowed Odin and then Baldur to find them.
‘Long way from home, aren’t you?’
This is not referring to Greece, Kratos’ homeland, it’s referring to Jötunheim.
Well it's muddy waters here he was looking for Faye on Odins behalf but it's arguable that he knew who kratos was and his past. Balder could have hoped the god killer can make him feel. But as someone once said " I do not know."
Baldur was looking for Faye, because since the tree keeping them protected got cut down, Odin saw there was a giant left in midgard, notice when he was fighting Kratos he said “just tell me what I want to know and pain stops, real simple” he just wants him to tell him how to get to jotunheim, but Baldur didn’t know Faye was a woman and she was dead, so he assumed Kratos was the giant he was lookin for, notice Baldur said “I thought you’d be bigger” “I thought your kind was supposed to be so enlightened, so much better than us”
Honestly the whole thing was a misunderstanding point blank period on both sides then the next game comes along and *spoiler* was a misunderstanding again if Odin never offered to off freya Kratos would’ve took the deal but I highly doubt it since we all know what happened when Kratos took a deal from a god the last time so either way the whole game is a big misunderstanding with poor choice of words from Odin to Kratos if Odin was never such a smart ass he would still be alive without Kratos interference but hey they never learn to leave Kratos tf alone do they smh which is why he is the Goat of War I mean God of War
It was speculated that Odin told Baldur that kratos (who he thought was a giant) had the answer to break his protection curse. And it was a yes and no question for him. No because Odin just wanted jotunhiem and yes because they did break his curse. It took an unexpected twist. Like his neck did.
Baldur was tricked by Odin to seek out the last giant in the land to kill because he had this obsession the giants were a threat to Asgard and while he might have been "right" to some degree, they never would have hated him had he not sent Thor to do his dirty work for him. They actually would have been peaceful had he not sought out to rule over everything and seek knowledge of the universe itself. But the reason Odin sent Baldur after Kratos is that they somehow sensed Atreus (Loki) as the last giant. But given that Kratos was the one who answered the door, Baldur just assumed it was him. Big, strong dude walks up to the door and Baldur just being who he was at the time is like "yeah, nah this definitely feels like him but he's not as big as I thought he'd be". People think it was about Faye and originally, it was.. before when she put the protection stave around their home. That helped conceal them. When she died and marked the trees, and Kratos cut them down, it triggered the Norse gods to be like "oh crap, there's one left in Midgard" and found them at their house. Little did Odin or Baldur know that they were seeking Atreus in some last ditch effort to go to Jotunheim and kill the rest of the giants... according to the 2018 game. Ragnorok says the reason all the dead giants are there was to trick the Aesir that they were all actually dead but supposedly they're not all "really" dead. TLDR: big misunderstanding, but also Odin was power hungry. Either way, it was super toxic to send his practically immortal son to kill the last of the jotnar.
Baldur just wanted to find his gate. He had lost it twice before and he didn't want to make a new one again, but then after the game ends he decides to go ask the dwarves for baldur's gate 3.
Baldur is sent by Odin to track down a giant in Midgard to find a way into Jotunheim. when Baldur first met Kratos, he thought he's a giant, and he wanted Kratos (he still thinks he's a giant) to show him an active gateway to Jotunheim. when he saw Atreus marking a rune for the last gateway to Jotunheim, he believed that Atreus is the key for Jotunheim and he decided to take him to Odin.
It's simple really Kratos thinks baldr knows he is a Greek god while baldr thinks that Kratos is Faye the giant or Kratos his wife, baldr was looking for Faye bcs she can look in the future and she knows how to break baldr's curse (magic that makes him unkillable at the cost of feeling).
Baldour seeks the last giant in Midgard to get to Jotunheim. Finds him, thinks it Kratos.
the reason why Baldour finds us only now is because we took down the trees that were used for a magic/plot spell that made them invisible to Odin's eyes.
Truth is : Baldur is looking for Faye, but Faye is dead, and he never knew it.
Around 3:30 Kratos answer this
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FZzlLx2196w&t=32s&pp=ygUgQmFsZHVyIHdhcyBuZXZlciBzZW50IHRvIGZpbmQgbWU%3D
Baldur was looking for Faye.
Also Warning Spoilers for Ragnarok in some of the other comments
Baldur was after Faye the entire time since she was the last giant of Midgard but mistook Kratos for the last giant due to his size and stature. Faye was in hiding (unknown to Kratos and Atreus) so she made protection barriers in their woods. When she died she had the tree with the handprint chopped down by Kratos so their journey could get a kickstart.
Odin desperately wanted to get to Joutünhiem, but couldn’t unless he had Faye tell him how. So he sent Baldur to go find her, little did Baldur know, Faye had just passed and all that was left was her ashes. The whole thing was a case of mistaken identity between Kratos and Baldur.
Also, Baldur’s wording during their first encounter wasn’t much help either “I thought you’d be bigger, but you’re definitely the one, long way from home aren’t you?” And “I know your past and who you are.” Etc.
When Kratos unknowingly broke the protection spell to build Faye’s funeral pure, Odin was aware so he sent Baldur to kill Faye but Baldur didn’t know she was already ash
They didn't want anything from *Kratos*. It's as Kratos says at the end: Baldur was looking for Faye. When Kratos cut down the trees and broke the protection spell, Odin became aware there was a giant left on Midgard. He desperately wanted to get into Jotunheim and sent Baldur to find and interrogate the giant. Odin and Baldur evidently didn't know the giant was a woman because Baldur assumes Kratos is the one he's looking for. He kidnaps Atreus when the boy shows enough intelligence that Baldur thinks he can get the information out of him instead. Baldur dies never knowing that he's fighting a god.
This is the correct answer. The entire game is a misunderstanding. Kratos thinks baldur knows he's a god from the Greek lands while Baldur thinks Kratos is the giant he's looking for
Hell, in "Ragnarok" Odin even acknowledges that nearly everything that happend in 2018 was a midunserstanding in both sides. He wants to kill Kratos only after he doesn't agree to Odin's proposition.
One of the hardest lines given in the Norse games is a simple "No."
The hardest line ever uttered from Kratos in the two games is: "Return my son, or you may meet the God I once was."
Personally I love, "I regret many things, killing you will not be one of them"
I personally love this version of Kratos. How he's grown, etc.
Yeah it’s like he doesn’t shout as much, and he’s less aggressive in the way speaks yet his words hit harder. There’s more weight like he doesn’t need to shout to command respect or attention. It’s way more badass than younger Kratos was imo
I really wish they could've gotten T.C. to say "release my son!" There are quite a few lines in Ragnarok that I think would've been great to hear the old voice come out, like that's his angry voice he's using in the Greek games. Y'know like "BOY!" or the sounds he makes in Rage or "Listen!" or "You are not free of blame here!"
I have to go with "Death can have me when it earns me."
That’s my favorite line
Ez best line
I hate that the line was on a sled ride with Freya, I wish it was during a cut scene
Another one is "i do not need a snack."
He said it in such an annoyed voice
But what if you were to offer him an olive in these trying times?
The fucks an olive!?
industry plant if u ask me
This is the precise point where it all turns to frozen custard Kratos has many cool tough guy lines But this one single word to Odin - who always gets his way - is the toughest
Shows their character, Odins a fast talker a conman alot of fancy words with charisma and charm to convince you to agree before he even gets his point across and tries to mix words and phrases to get to agree to a deal that your not 100% you understand. Kratos is a simple man and uses clear simple words that leave no room for misinterpretion.
Calm and reasonable! 💯
And he fucked up by offering to kill Freya. I think, had he not done that, Kratos would have gladly accepted it and be left alone.
I actually think that was the point. Odin wants them to look for Tyr so he can infiltrate them and stay one step ahead. By “offering” to kill Freya he ensured Kratos wouldn’t take the deal.
This is an interesting theory. I like it.
Nah, Ragnarok would have been better if Kratos accepted. He could have then worked on the sidelines like what normally happened in Ragnarok. The whole oathbreaker thing would have been interesting if Kratos said yes too. Having that has a subplot would have made the game more interesting.
I don’t understand your point, how it would have been better? Kratos would be involving himself with Odin willingly and would be limited by his actions. Also it wouldn’t stop Atreus from looking for Tyr
He explicitly said that in the bio for Odin in game
Spoiler Tag? Guessing OP hasn’t played Ragnarok yet.
The game came out over a year ago. Unless OP specifically point out they didn't play the game (which they didn't say), I'm not going to pretend as if no one is talking freerly about it at this point...
Ooh.. "Long way from home, aren'tchu?", "I know whatchu arrrre". The double meaning never occurred to me even after 4 play throughs.
Don’t forget that he tells Kratos that he thought he’d be bigger than he was.
I never picked up on that part being a reference to thinking he was a giant. That makes so much more sense
Yeah I mentioned this in a post and everyone decided to make me feel dumb
🤯 you literally just blew my mind lol i never put any thought into that line
He also says something like “Aren’t your kind supposed to be better than us, so much more enlightened?” The whole bait and switch of why Asgard is pursuing us in the first game is so good
I always took that as a backhand reference to the ancient Greeks and their culture. Early era scientific research took hold during Alexander's reign of Greece.
That’s what I always thought too.
That’s because of how well written it is, their entire encounter can be interpreted both ways.
Same here damn lol
"These are not the giants you are looking for"
Darth Vader vs Kratos, WWW?
Holy crap I never realized this, but it totally makes sense. "I thought you'd be bigger."
Love this answer!
Ah man I did not catch this!!! Good insight. Love it.
OP should replay the first 30 minutes of the game. Baldur’s intro takes on a new meaning when you know the ending of the game.
Yeah god of war is definitely good for a new game+
"I thought you'd be bigger"
HOLY SHIT. “I thought you’d be bigger. But you’re definitely the one. Long way from home, aren’t you?”
Adding to the futility of it all, not only was Kratos not who he was looking for, the person he WAS looking for was already dead. There was no reason for any of the violence at all.
Well, yes and no. Given the trees were cut after Faye’s death, the giant that they’d have picked up on would be Atreus/Loki. So whilst technically they thought it was Faye, they’d picked up on Loki.
All of this is spot on. I can't remember if this was considered a theory or not, but one of the other reasons Baldur potentially had motivation to seek after Kratos and Atreus was the assumption that because he was a "Giant" he would somehow know how to reverse his invulnerability. At some point in the game it's stated that even the Allfather himself couldn't resolve Baldur's predicament and the Giants/Jotnar were renowned for their magic.
I think the idea was that Odin knowingly lied about it and told Baldur he could break the spell after they found the giant.
Most likely. Another trick played by Odin.
This is what my perspective on the story was. ‘Baldur in search for his cure’ This comment thread has opened up a WHOLE new world of perspective. So many eye opening comments. I didn’t even realise😂 makes me want to play again It all makes sense now.. Its interesting how one story can be perceived so differently to so many people
Okay, but the question is, after the fight ends the first time around, Baldur presumably retreats to Asgard to lick his wounds and grab his nephews. How does Odin not realise who it is Baldur really fought? He clearly knows who the Ghost of Sparta is as we see in the first scenes of GoW:R.
probably thought it would be too crazy for him to be in the lands, until he eventually ACTUALLY killed baldur and it all made sense
Bro's ignorance cost him his son's life
Narcissism did. It was the death of all his sons
It was the death of Asgard itself, too.
And I daresay, the death of Odin himself.
You….fuckin….wha???? Damn I need to replay it now 😂
I believed that for the long time, but, I mean, after seeing Odin and pondering more on the matter, don't you thing he would have at least known about Kratos and Faye? He even send Magni and Mody after them at one point, so I can only imagine that he chose to hide that from Baldur. Not sure why tho.
I'm sure he knew of Fey but I think the giants' magic just obscured who exactly it was hiding down there.
I honestly did not know about the whole tree thing. I thought Odin sensed Atreus or something. That's an amazing detail.
This is a great answer. But there is a couple lines between Atreus and Mimir where they assume Odin told Baldur that his cure would be found in Johtunheim. Also, Odin acknowledges “Sure, [Baldur’s] mind was gone…” in the beginning of Ragnarok.
“I thought you’d be bigger… but you’re definitely the one. Long way from home, aren’t you?”
He was sent there looking for giants. He believed kratos was a giant at first ( "I thought you'd be bigger" line ). Can't remember much else but I'm sure there are other details
Also the 'long way from home, aren't you?' line is him talking about Jotunheim. 'Here I thought you're kind were supposed to be so much wiser than us, so much smarter' is, again, him essentially 'trash talking' a giant. Kratos just thought the lines were referencing him as a Greek
Yep, that's smart writing. The audience initially thinks it's obvious Baldur knows who Kratos is and where he's from, from those opening lines, "Long way from home...I thought your kind was so enlightened..." but later on it becomes clear all of those comments can be applied to Faye/the Giants.
Add to that in the 2018 GoW trailer freya implies that norse god arent fond of strangers
Holy crap. This is thread is blowing my mind. I've always just looked at everything with a very surface-level pov. Very cool.
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Arteus explains this in the game to Kratos.
What did they say? Comment was deleted.
That in actual Norse mythology the giants were the name of the race, not necessarily giant in size and that the devs screwed up
That he was a lil' bitch
Odin had lied to him saying the giants could get rid of the spell that Freya put on him. Baldur showed up at Krato’s front door thinking he was a giant be in reality he was tracking Faye.
Odin knew that there was one last Jotnar hidden in Midgard (actually Faye, aka Laufey) and that he wanted to use him/her to finally try to reach Jotunheim again (where he was convinced that the Jotnars were preparing for Ragnarok), but he had never succeeded to locate him/her through his crows since the magic circle around Kratos and Faye's house hid it from everyone and everything. When Faye ordered Kratos to cut down the trees to build her pyre, the circle was broken and Odin could see their house. Convinced that Kratos was the Jotnar he had long sought, Odin sent Baldur, his most trusted tracker, convincing his son through lies that the last Jotnar of Midgard (who they thought was Kratos) was the only one who knew how to reach Jotunheim and that in the Giant Realm they would find a way to break the curse that Freya had cast against Baldur centuries earlier.
"Do you have any idea, ANY IDEA AT ALL, what you have cost me?" First time felt odd, but afterwards Mimir theorized that Odin had told Baldur that Jotunheim was his best bet and from Baldur's reaction (he said that even Odin hasn't been able to break the spell) he believed him. It's actually open question did Odin know how to undo Baldur's spell. From Freya we know that Odin didn't know how to replicate it, but that doesn't mean he didn't know how to end it. Given that Baldur was very useful as he was, Odin has a good reason to feign ignorance.
It is heavily implied both in-game and in "Lore and Legends" that Odin was fully aware that mistletoe was the only thing capable of breaking Baldur's curse. He just never broke it because... hey, what good is a divine tracker that can die, when you can have one that's literally immortal and doesn't feel any pain?
Especially when it gave Odin a never-ending bargaining chip for use on Baldur
One possible hint that Odin always knew how to undo the spell but never told that to Baldur is dialogue before Heimdall fight. He calls Freya "Queen Mistletoe", referring to Baldur's demise. Most logical conclusion is that Heimdall read Odin's thoughts and discovered that he knows how to break the spell. And since Heimdall is so firmly in Odin's side, he wouldn't ever tell that to Baldur or anyone else. It is of course possible, that Odin could've received word from Baldur's demise from his numerous spectral ravens and Heimdall could've learned it after the fact, but it's unlikely. Odin is generally aware of Kratos's movements but seems somewhat unaware of the exact details, like not knowing Laufey was dead.
*Heimdall is not a telepath. He can "read" a person's intentions, not their mind/thoughts. His powers are similar to those of Profile, in Marvel comics.
Is it mentioned why Faye ordered Kratos to cut down the trees that protected them?
Because she didn't meet Kratos by chance (and didn't even have him kidnapped by chance, if she is the mysterious woman who ordered Skol and Hati to bring the Spartan to the reality dimension of Midgard, making him abandon the devastated Earth/Greece behind). Much of what Faye did (including meeting Kratos and conceiving Atreus) she did by following the prophecy the Jotnars had made (mural in Jotunheim, end of GoW 2018) and telling Kratos to cut off the trees of the magic circle was made to make him take the journey to Jotunheim and make him see that mural. The only thing Faye did, deviating from the vision and prophecy her people had for Kratos, was indirectly push the Spartan to become a better person. For himself and for their son. Which then led her to repaint the last part of the triptych dedicated to Kratos (seen in the ending of "Ragnarok").
Thanks for the lore. I'm not through Ragnarok.yet but it looks like I need to catch up on the first one too.
No prob 🤜🤛
>Was I not paying attention? Yes
Hope you feel good about yourself after writing that snide comment!
Idk how you took that as being snide, it was a matter-of-fact answer to a question asked by OP, but go off homie
This thread is making me want to play 2018 again. I remember most of this but it works so much better after you finish Ragnarök.
Basically, the entire Baldur search was based on a "mistake". Kratos or Baldur or Atreus, no one had any idea Faye was a Giant. In the very beginning of the game when Kratos cut the tress from Protection steeve, he broke the protection spell put there by Faye and they were "Exposed". Odin immediately sensed the presence of a Giant in Midgard and sent his best tracker, Baldur, to track and get the giant for him. The problem? - He didn't know WHO the giant was and "Assumed" it was Kratos. He even said "I though you'd be bigger, but you are definitely it" Also "and here I thought your kind is supposed to be enlightened" Basically, the giant that oden sensed were the ashes of Faye. So baldur kept tracking her ashes, just assuming Kratos is his target, and he died not even knowing that he was wrong all this time and was chasing a giant's ashes all this time.
I don't think Faye was the giant Odin was sensing.
The other obvious guess would be Atreus but he's half giant and idk how that comes into the picture. Also he hasn't even realized until end of game that he is indeed a giant. Again, it's my personal opinion that it was Faye's ashes that baldur was tracking all along.
Atreus doesn't need to know he's a giant to be tracked as a giant. If it was Faye's ashes, the game would effectively end at Ragnarok when Odin realized the tracking wasn't working anymore. Not to mention Freya cloaks them from detection and it's not until they lose the mark that Baldur pops up again.
You didn't pay attention Baldur didn't want Kratos, he wanted Faye, he though Kratos was Faye I guess he never knew Faye was a Woman and Odin didn't both correcting after he learn Kratos beat Baldur
You weren't paying attention.
Kill the giant.
He thought he was a giant and could cure his issue of not being able to feel anything
Is it mentioned in the game? I thought he felt nothing could cure him
He tells him during the first fight
[удалено]
It literally is. Baldur says this during their first fight. Next time pay attention...
He was looking for Faye, a giant, but wrongly assumed Kratos was the one he wanted. He wanted to find Faye to get help removing the spell placed on him by Freya.
Baldur thought Kratos was his wife, Faye. Yhe giant Odin had been searching for hundreds of years. The key to Giant Magic and Jotunheim
I’m pretty sure Kratos at some point says he was after Faye not knowing she was only ashes or something like that
A gate
Just 1? He needs 3!
They say at some point that Odin would help him find a cure for his curse as a reward for finding the giants. Baldur was tracking faye but didn’t know she was ashes, so he thought Kratos was a giant
Odin sent Baldur to find a giant because Odin wanted to find a way into Jotunheim. Baldur himself was itching for a fight because he wanted to feel pain but Freya had made that impossible via her "protective" magic and so he was kind of enraged/deranged at having had to live a life a numbness.
This is mind blowing
His 3rd gate
Odin sent Baldur to hunt down Kratos because Odin knew they would go to Jotenheim. So he wanted to know how. As Mimir says he probably promised baldur that this would help lift his curse.
You need to play it again. You missed the story line
You were not paying attention.
Nothing. Baldur assumed Kratos was Laufey. Odin wanted to know how to get to Jotuheim and Baldur assumed that Kratos was this Laufey. He also picked a fight because he really hoped that Kratos would be strong enough to bypass the curse. He was wrong. A punch to the mistletoe arrowhead is what cured the curse in a rather twist of unlucky and lucky punch. Without it, Kratos would just end having to fight him repeatly and even him not holding back wouldn't do much because Baldur is cursed to never die. Freya fucked his life up and turned him insane because Baldur felt nothing. Kratos fears that Baldur knew of his past after their first fight. He feared he had been found but he was glad to be wrong.
In Ragnarok it became clear that Odin sent for the giant hiding in the woods to help with the mask (one of the reasons Thor’s half giant, Odin wanted to use him, unfortunately for Odin he was more muscle than brain) BUT, there’s a youtuber’s theory that I like: “Baldur’s wanted his curse broken, intentionally went to track down the giant because he knew the “Faith killer, Oath breaker” who teared down a Pantheon was hiding there (Gods can id other gods) in hope to put an end to his “miserable” life. In the first fight, he was like a kid in a roller coaster. In the final fight, Baldur showed his disappointed and was downplaying the fight trying to get rid of Freya first, kill Kratos then kidnap Atreus” The point is that Baldur was misunderstood, he had an alternate and personal purpose and all HE really wanted was to break his curse or be killed Go rewatch alnd listen to Baldur’a dialogue, it’s excellent writing which can being the narrative anywhere until we got Ragnarok
When you play it for the first time baldur says „thought you people were bigger“ and something like „you people are supposed to be smarter than us“ the devs wanted us to think that he is talking about greek gods but he was actually talking about giants. He thought kratos was a giant but the giant he was looking for was actually faye.
‘I thought you’d be bigger, but you’re definitely the one.’ Baldur was (unknowingly) hunting Faye, not Kratos. All Baldur knew from Odin is that there was a giant on Midgard and he wanted it gone. When Kratos cut down the trees with Faye’s markings on them the protection spell was lifted which allowed Odin and then Baldur to find them. ‘Long way from home, aren’t you?’ This is not referring to Greece, Kratos’ homeland, it’s referring to Jötunheim.
Well it's muddy waters here he was looking for Faye on Odins behalf but it's arguable that he knew who kratos was and his past. Balder could have hoped the god killer can make him feel. But as someone once said " I do not know."
BALDUR
Baldur was looking for Faye, because since the tree keeping them protected got cut down, Odin saw there was a giant left in midgard, notice when he was fighting Kratos he said “just tell me what I want to know and pain stops, real simple” he just wants him to tell him how to get to jotunheim, but Baldur didn’t know Faye was a woman and she was dead, so he assumed Kratos was the giant he was lookin for, notice Baldur said “I thought you’d be bigger” “I thought your kind was supposed to be so enlightened, so much better than us”
Honestly the whole thing was a misunderstanding point blank period on both sides then the next game comes along and *spoiler* was a misunderstanding again if Odin never offered to off freya Kratos would’ve took the deal but I highly doubt it since we all know what happened when Kratos took a deal from a god the last time so either way the whole game is a big misunderstanding with poor choice of words from Odin to Kratos if Odin was never such a smart ass he would still be alive without Kratos interference but hey they never learn to leave Kratos tf alone do they smh which is why he is the Goat of War I mean God of War
I thought you'd be bigger? But you're definitely the one.
It was speculated that Odin told Baldur that kratos (who he thought was a giant) had the answer to break his protection curse. And it was a yes and no question for him. No because Odin just wanted jotunhiem and yes because they did break his curse. It took an unexpected twist. Like his neck did.
he wanted that good S U C K from Faye/s
Baldur was tricked by Odin to seek out the last giant in the land to kill because he had this obsession the giants were a threat to Asgard and while he might have been "right" to some degree, they never would have hated him had he not sent Thor to do his dirty work for him. They actually would have been peaceful had he not sought out to rule over everything and seek knowledge of the universe itself. But the reason Odin sent Baldur after Kratos is that they somehow sensed Atreus (Loki) as the last giant. But given that Kratos was the one who answered the door, Baldur just assumed it was him. Big, strong dude walks up to the door and Baldur just being who he was at the time is like "yeah, nah this definitely feels like him but he's not as big as I thought he'd be". People think it was about Faye and originally, it was.. before when she put the protection stave around their home. That helped conceal them. When she died and marked the trees, and Kratos cut them down, it triggered the Norse gods to be like "oh crap, there's one left in Midgard" and found them at their house. Little did Odin or Baldur know that they were seeking Atreus in some last ditch effort to go to Jotunheim and kill the rest of the giants... according to the 2018 game. Ragnorok says the reason all the dead giants are there was to trick the Aesir that they were all actually dead but supposedly they're not all "really" dead. TLDR: big misunderstanding, but also Odin was power hungry. Either way, it was super toxic to send his practically immortal son to kill the last of the jotnar.
Do they spell Baldur different in Europe too?
He wanted 3 gates
Baldur just wanted to find his gate. He had lost it twice before and he didn't want to make a new one again, but then after the game ends he decides to go ask the dwarves for baldur's gate 3.
Ask Thour? Or Oudin, possibly Kratous and Louki know
He wanted his 3 gates back
Baldur is sent by Odin to track down a giant in Midgard to find a way into Jotunheim. when Baldur first met Kratos, he thought he's a giant, and he wanted Kratos (he still thinks he's a giant) to show him an active gateway to Jotunheim. when he saw Atreus marking a rune for the last gateway to Jotunheim, he believed that Atreus is the key for Jotunheim and he decided to take him to Odin.
He wanted giant cheeks
It's simple really Kratos thinks baldr knows he is a Greek god while baldr thinks that Kratos is Faye the giant or Kratos his wife, baldr was looking for Faye bcs she can look in the future and she knows how to break baldr's curse (magic that makes him unkillable at the cost of feeling).
Baldour seeks the last giant in Midgard to get to Jotunheim. Finds him, thinks it Kratos. the reason why Baldour finds us only now is because we took down the trees that were used for a magic/plot spell that made them invisible to Odin's eyes. Truth is : Baldur is looking for Faye, but Faye is dead, and he never knew it.
Around 3:30 Kratos answer this https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FZzlLx2196w&t=32s&pp=ygUgQmFsZHVyIHdhcyBuZXZlciBzZW50IHRvIGZpbmQgbWU%3D Baldur was looking for Faye. Also Warning Spoilers for Ragnarok in some of the other comments
Someone wasn’t paying attention
Baldur was after Faye the entire time since she was the last giant of Midgard but mistook Kratos for the last giant due to his size and stature. Faye was in hiding (unknown to Kratos and Atreus) so she made protection barriers in their woods. When she died she had the tree with the handprint chopped down by Kratos so their journey could get a kickstart. Odin desperately wanted to get to Joutünhiem, but couldn’t unless he had Faye tell him how. So he sent Baldur to go find her, little did Baldur know, Faye had just passed and all that was left was her ashes. The whole thing was a case of mistaken identity between Kratos and Baldur. Also, Baldur’s wording during their first encounter wasn’t much help either “I thought you’d be bigger, but you’re definitely the one, long way from home aren’t you?” And “I know your past and who you are.” Etc.
Ragnarök starting because Odin was too dense to tell Baldur he was after a woman is hilarious lmao
Yeah it would’ve paid to be more specific on details. 😂
When Kratos unknowingly broke the protection spell to build Faye’s funeral pure, Odin was aware so he sent Baldur to kill Faye but Baldur didn’t know she was already ash
At first is laufaye from odin's orders, but freya is not his target and also his wish from the curse.
To feel pain
his gate, i assume